A look at Friday night’s football games for couleesports.com teams:
Onalaska (6-2, 4-2 MVC) at Central (6-2, 6-0 MVC)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex, UW-La Crosse
LAST YEAR: The Hilltoppers won 42-38 after entering the fourth quarter trailing 32-21.
NOTEWORTHY: Onalaska–The Hilltoppers have won 4 straight games since losing to Reedsburg in Week 5. … Senior QB Ian Kowal (117-for-181-1,517 yards, 17 TDs-2 INTs) leads the area in passing yards and TD passes…. Junior RB Kaeson Stettler (95 carries-488 yards, 5 TDs) has been a dual threat with 3 TD catches. … Senior WR Luke Siegel (36 catches-478 yards, 5 TDs) and senior WR Tanner Siebert (26-322, 3) have been consistent receivers all season, but junior Brendan Chenault (13-327, 3) has been making big plays lately. … Senior Phengsu Vang leads the defense with 10 tackles for loss. … The Hilltoppersare ninth in the Division 3 matrix and enter as a 3 seed; Central–The RiverHawks have won 6 games in a row after opening the season 0-2. … They can win the MVC outright with a win or a Holmen loss to Logan nd already own a share of the title. … Senior QB Christian Rudrud (1,300 rushing yards and 19 TDs; 733 passing yards and 7 TDs) has terrorized opposing defenses all season and completed 70 percent of his passes. … Senior WR Connor Groth (29-530, 7) is dangerous downfield, and junior Gabe Servais (407 rushing yards, 285 passing yards, 151 receiving yards) a threat wherever Central uses him. … The defense held Holmen to 136 rushing yards and just 6 points last week. … The RiverHawks are 11th overall in the Division 2 matrix and enter this game as a 3 seed.
Holmen (7-1, 5-1 MVC) at Logan (6-2, 4-2 MVC)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Swanson Field, Logan High School
LAST YEAR: The Vikings won 17-14 on a field goal in overtime.
NOTEWORTHY: Holmen–The Vikings will try to get their rushing attack back on track after scoring just points in last week’s loss to Central. … Holmen can get a share of the MVC title with a win here and an Onalaska win over Central. … Senior RBs Jack Barth (60-697, 9) and Eli Kane (79-644, 13) have been reliable backs in an offense that averages 35 points per game. … Holmen’s defense is allowing 11.5 points per game and has allowed just 2 opponents to score at least 20; The Vikings are eighth in the Division 2 matrix and enter this game as a 2 seed; Logan–Senior RB Maxim Roberts (154-1,072, 15) and sophomore QB Tommy Check (150-715, 1) keep the Rangers’ running attack moving, although Roberts has been particularly had to stop in recent weeks. … Roberts and senior WR Andrew Stanton (15-332, 3) have been the source of big plays in the second half of the season. … The Rangers are 1th in the Division 3 matrix and enter this game as a 3 seed.
Aquinas (8-0, 6-0 Coulee) at Viroqua (0-8, 0-6 Coulee)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Viroqua High School
LAST YEAR: The Blugolds won 46-13 with a 39-point first half.
NOTEWORTHY: Aquinas–The Blugolds win the outright Coulee Conference championship with a win in this game after clinching a share by beating West Salem last week. … Senior QB Ryan Johnson (68-97-1,259, 15-1) may not throw the ball much tonight, but he ha been both accurate and timely in his attempts all season. … Aquinas averages 93.7 rushing yards per game, but that should take a jump tonight. … Aquinas has scored 18 touchdowns on the ground behind junior Isaac Miller and senior Marcus Klar, who have 4 each. … The Blugolds are in the top spot of the Division 4 matrix and enter this game as a 1 seed; Viroqua–The Blackhawks have scored 50 points this season and more than eight in a game just once. … Senior QB Alex Klum (40-96-428, 4-12), freshman RB Daxtin Elliott (75-248, 1) and senior WR Hayden Burckhardt (19-272, 3) are the top offensive players for a team playing its final game of the season.
Onalaska Luther (4-4, 4-2 Coulee) at Arcadia (6-2, 4-2 Coulee)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Arcadia High School
LAST YEAR: The Knights won 41-12 and held the Raiders scoreless until the fourth quarter.
NOTEWORTHY: Luther–The Knights are 33rd in the Division 6 playoff matrix and one spot out of the playoff picture. … Success in this game will come with controlling Arcadia’s run game. … Junior QB Jonny Holub (47-104-643, 8-10) and junior RB Logan Pierce (76-442, 5) are the offensive standouts. … Luther’s defense allowed a total of 22 points in wins over Viroqua and Westby the past 2 weeks. … A win over a team with 6 wins like Arcadia could propel the Knights into the playoff picture; Arcadia–Senior RB Max Blaschko (186-1,292, 13) has had a great season for the Raiders and will be the focal point for Luther. … Junior QB Carter Wegman (62-111-824, 13-3) has 3 reliable targets in junior Jonah Slaby (23-349, 6), sophomore Deklyn Grzadzielewski (16-245,3) and Khyle Updike (15-212, 4). … The Raiders scored 90 points in wins over Black River Falls and G-E-T the past 2 week. … Arcadia is 22nd in the Division 5 playoff matrix and enters this game as a 6 seed
Black River Falls (2-6, 2-4 Coulee) at West Salem (6-2, 5-1 Coulee)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: West Salem High School
LAST YEAR: The Panthers won 40-0, and QB Drew McConkey rushed for a TD and passed for a TD.
NOTEWORTHY: BRF–The Tigers beat Viroqua 44-0 last week. … Black River Falls is led by junior QB Brayton Backaus (69-148-1,351, 16-11) and junior WR Mason Meimann 14-610, 9). … The Tigers also have senior RBs Austin Lund (79-445, 4) and Grady Meek (85-437, 4). … The Tigers are 45th in the Division 4 playoff matrix and out of the playoff picture entering this game; West Salem–The Panthers are 21st in the Division 4 playoff matrix and currently a 6 seed after losing to Aquinas last week. … West Salem will secure sole possession of second place in the Coulee with a win. … Junior QB Drew McConkey ha passed for 881 yards and 11 TDs and rushed for 333 yards and 7 TDs. … Junior RB Lucas Fry (48-369, 9) is the team’s top rusher, and junior WRs Josiah Wolbrink and Jameson Skifton both have 3 TD catches and more than 200 receiving yards.
Melrose-Mindoro (5-3, 3-3 Dairyland) at Cochrane-Fountain City (8-0, 6-0 Dairyland)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: C-FC High School
LAST YEAR: The Pirates won 34-7.
NOTEWORTHY: Mel-Min–The Mustangs are 27th in the Division 6 playoff matrix and enter this game as a 7 seed. … Junior QB Brady Blaken (72-140-945, 7-7) handles the passing and has rushed for 202 yards and 3 TDs for Melrose-Mindoro. … Junior Isaiah Kleinsmith (71-462, 6) is the leading rusher and receiver (25-360, 3) for the Mustangs, who have won 2 of their past 3 games but lost to Blair-Taylor 30-20 last week; C-FC–The Pirates are third in the Division 7 playoff matrix and own a 1 seed. … C-FC has shut out 7 opponents and allowed 14 points all season. … The Pirates average 234.5 rushing yards per game. … Senior Ethan Smith (61-565, 14) and junior Aidan Lisowski (48-541, 8) are the primary contributors for that.
